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Clayton RawsonThis page lists novels and non-fiction by Clayton Rawson. Rawson published two collections of stories using the pen name Stuart Towne. These books are included in the main list. Cover images are, when possible, of the first edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.
This page is divided into two sections.
By Clayton Rawson:
- novels
- non-fiction
Illustrated by Clayton Rawson:
- children's / magic
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Clayton Rawson: Novels |
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Death from a Top HatClayton Rawson
G. P. Putnam's Sons1938 A Great Merlini novel.
"Freelance scribe Ross Harte is working on an essay about the sad state of the modern mystery novel when a scream comes from the hallway: "There is death in that room!" Harte finds a trio of conjurers trying to get into the apartment of his neighbor, the mysterious Dr. Cesare Sabbat, famed occultist and, for the past few minutes, a corpse. They break down the door to find Sabbat lying in a pentagram, face twisted from the agonies of strangulation, but with no bruises on his neck. All the doors were locked, and the windows drop straight down to the river below. Only an escape artist could get out of that room, and Sabbat knew quite a few. To make sense of this misdirected muddle, the police bring in the Great Merlini, an illusionist whose specialty is making mysteries disappear."
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The Footprints on the CeilingClayton Rawson
G. P. Putnam's Sons1939 A Great Merlini novel.
"'Wanted To Rent: Haunted House, preferably in rundown condition. Must be adequately supplied with interesting ghost.' Ross Harte knows that only the Great Merlini could be behind such a strange classified ad. A magician, salesman, and occasional sleuth, Merlini is producing radio investigations of paranormal activity, and he needs ghosts to put on-air. His first target is Skelton Island, an eerie speck of land just a few hundred feet off the coast of Manhattan, but seemingly out of another time. On a late-night trip to the island, Merlini and Harte find the house perfectly rundown and well-stocked with ghosts, including one fresh one. Linda Skelton, granddaughter of the famous Scourge of Wall Street, has been poisoned with cyanide. Unless Merlini works quickly, he and Ross will join her among the ranks of Skelton Island's famous spirits."
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The Headless LadyClayton Rawson
G. P. Putnam's Sons1940 A Great Merlini novel.
"Summer heat is choking New York, and the Great Merlini – conjurer, sleuth, and godson of P. T. Barnum – offers his friend Ross Harte a chance to get out of town. Before they can depart for the annual convention of the Society of American Magicians, a nervous woman enters Merlini's shop, begging to purchase his most popular illusion: the headless lady. When the magician refuses to sell his last copy, she steals it. She is the daughter of Major Hannum, a recently deceased circus magnate whose death may not have been an accident. Somewhere among the carnies, barkers, and freaks lurks a killer, and only Merlini can save the carnival from further bloodshed. The killer's plot is as sly as a funhouse mirror, but no detective is more at home in a world where nothing is what it seems."
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No Coffin for the CorpseClayton Rawson
Little, Brown1942 A Great Merlini novel.
"When Ross Harte gets into a screaming match with his fiancee's father, millionaire Dudley Wolff, the old man cuts Harte's beloved out of his will. As far as Wolff is concerned, this is an empty threat, because he plans to live forever. He has a team of scientists working to extend his life as long as possible, and should they fail, a renowned psychic will contact him after his death. Wolff is obsessed with death's mysteries, and he is about to get a first-hand look. When a detective attempts to blackmail him, Wolff punches him in the jaw so hard that it stops the crook's heart. Fearing scandal, Wolff and his staff bury the body in the woods. When the dead blackmailer comes back to haunt him, the millionaire is forced to call on Harte and his friend the Great Merlini, conjurer and sleuth, to banish the spirits that have brought death to his door."
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Death Out of Thin AirStuart Towne
Coward McCann1941 Two Don Diavolo novellas. Subsequently published as by Clayton Rawson.
"The women of London have taken to wearing thin black bands around their necks. Is it a fashion accessory – or a stylish way of hiding bite marks? A string of strange deaths has struck the town, and witnesses claim to have seen a vampire bat fleeing the scene. The London police can rest easy, for the vampire has left for New York. He makes his first appearance in a Broadway dressing room, piercing the neck of a woman who had come to speak to Don Diavolo, magician and escape artist. The police suspect Diavolo of killing her, forcing him to catch the vampire or face the chair. For his next trick, Diavolo confronts the murder of a police detective who is found shot to death in a locked office, where the sole trace of the killer is a mocking voice on the telephone. Only Don Diavolo, the Scarlet Wizard, can prove how the gunman made his escape."
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Death from NowhereStuart Towne
Wiegers Publishing Company1943 Two Don Diavolo novellas. Subsequently published as by Clayton Rawson.
"This collection brings together two adventures with Don Diavolo, the Scarlet Wizard. The first opens in his machinist’s workshop, where Diavolo perfects his newest feat: the Escape from the Double Crystal Water Casket. The men lurking outside have no interest in the magician’s secrets – they are detectives, tailing him on behalf of the police inspector. Giving them the slip is no trouble, but it proves a mistake, for Diavolo is about to be implicated in a murder. Diavolo is blackjacked as soon as he walks through the circus owner’s door, awaking just in time to be found standing over the corpse. To prove his innocence, the Scarlet Wizard must escape a trap more cunning than any crystal casket. His next adventure begins when an explorer lands at La Guardia airport, returning from India with a secret for which many men will die. Before Don Diavolo can unmask the killer, he must unlock the perplexing puzzle of the vanishing corpse."
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The Great Merlini: The Complete Stories of the Magician DetectiveClayton Rawson
Gregg Press1979 A collection of 12 short stories, featuring The Great Merlini, all originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
"A dozen compact puzzles from a master of the locked-room mystery. …. Clayton Rawson’s greatest detective confronts puzzles that would leave a lesser magician’s head spinning. From vanishing blackmailers to murderous mediums, no cosmic crime can baffle the Great Merlini."
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The Magical Mysteries of Don DiavoloClayton Rawson
Battered Silicon Dispatch Box2005 A collection that brings together four novellas and six short stories that were originally published in Red Star Mystery magazine and credited to Stuart Towne. The four novellas were first published in the Stuart Towne pen name books Death Out of Thin Air (1941) and Death from Nowhere (1943).
The contents are:
- Ghost of the Undead
- Death Out of Thin Air
- Claws of Satan
- The Enchanted Dagger
- Stand-In for a Kill
- Mr. Mystery
- The Man with the Radio Mind
- Ace of Death
- The Man with X-Ray Eyes
- Out of the Hat
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Clayton Rawson: Non-fiction |
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Scarne on DiceJohn Scarne with Clayton Rawson
Military Service Pubishing1945
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How to Entertain Children with Magic You Can DoThe Great Merlini
Simon & Schuster1962
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The Golden Book of Magic: Amazing Tricks for Young MagiciansThe Great Merlini
Golden Press Limited1964
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Books illustrated by Clayton Rawson |
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Little Brown BrunoAlice E. Radford
Illustrations: Clayton Rawson
Rand McNally 1931
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Al Baker's Book OneAl Baker
Illustrations: Clayton Rawson
1933
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Al Baker's Pet SecretsAlbert BakerIllustrations, and possibly some of the text - Clayton Rawson
Carl W Jones 1951
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